On Media

CNN strikes drone deal with FAA

CNN has signed an agreement with the Federal Aviation Administration that will allow it to share its research about using drones for newsgathering and reporting, the network announced on Monday.

The Cooperative Research and Development Agreement will allow CNN "to advance efforts to integrate Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) into newsgathering and reporting," a press release said.

"Our aim is to get beyond hobby-grade equipment and to establish what options are available and workable to produce high quality video journalism using various types of UAVs and camera setups,” CNN Senior Vice President David Vigilante said in a statement. “Our hope is that these efforts contribute to the development of a vibrant ecosystem where operators of various types and sizes can safely operate in the US airspace.”

“Unmanned aircraft offer news organizations significant opportunities,” said FAA Administrator Michael Huerta. “We hope this agreement with CNN and the work we are doing with other news organizations and associations will help safely integrate unmanned newsgathering technology and operating procedures into the National Airspace System.”

CNN first began studying the use of drone newsgathering in mid-2014 in partnership with the Georgia Institute of Technology. Monday's news is a significant breakthrough for the network, as previous efforts to use drones for newsgathering were severely limited by the FAA.